The 7 Responsibilities Of The President

Updated on 2/11/2021

The 2020 Presidential election was historical. With record voter turnout and the most votes cast for any presidential candidate in history, Joseph R. Biden was declared the President Elect of the United States in mid-November 2020. He was then sworn in on January 20, 2021, per the guidelines laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

One of the President’s jobs is being the Chief of State. This means he is our morale booster when we need it and a pat on the back when we deserve it. You can think of him as the “hype man” of our nation. An example of this is when the President awards scholarships and medals to outstanding citizens. He gives uplifting speeches during dark times and congratulatory speeches in prosperous time.

The President serves as America’s moral compass and the living symbol of our country. We Americans take pride in values such as hard work, justice and freedom. Our President assumes the role of protector of these values when he steps into office.

Our government is split into three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.  The President is the head of the Executive branch. Along with the President, the Vice President and his Cabinet make up the entirety of this branch. We had a bit of history here, too: Kamala Harris is the first woman and non-white person to hold the office of Vice President. Biden, Harris, and the cabinet are responsible for carrying out laws and making sure that laws are upheld.  Together, they meet to discuss matters of policy on infinite topics. 

The President often works with the other two branches of government, too. You can think of the President as the CEO of our country. The President sometimes handles the appointment of leaders in the Legislative and Judicial branches. He may reside in the Executive branch, but his gaze is far-reaching.

Our country’s Legislative branch handles legislature. Creating bills doesn’t involve the President, but he certainly plays a part in making bills a law.  

The President’s most well-known relationship to the Legislative branch is the right to veto. According to our Constitution, a President can veto bills passed by Congress. This means he has the power to deny bills from becoming laws. However, that isn’t all that he does during the law-making process.

The President uses his power to express dismay with the Legislative branch. When bills get hung up in Congress, it’s the President’s job to help persuade legislators and sway opinions. The President may give speeches to Congress to encourage bipartisan work relations. These are sometimes necessary given the bipartisan dismay within our Legislative branch.

Foreign and diplomatic affairs also fall into the basket of responsibility for the President. The President is not just the face of the country at home—he’s the face of the country to the rest of the world, too. Meeting with world leaders is another duty to maintain diplomacy. 

The President leads the conversation on foreign policy. To maintain foreign relationships, the President must stay involved in world issues. He doesn’t necessarily do this alone, though. The President looks to advisers and ambassadors aid in foreign policy and relations.

As Commander-In-Chief, the President is in charge of our country’s armed forces. The declaration of war speech made by George W. Bush after 9/11 is an example of a President acting as head of armed forces. However, declaring war the isn’t the only job of the Commander-In-Chief.

The President is also responsible for day-to-day coordination of our troops. He is an active member at the decision table for our military.  The President inspects our military's newest and most powerful weaponry. He helps with planning military placement. And, most notably, the President is in all conversations on strategic military decisions. It’s no wonder our Presidents leave office with more grey hair than they started with.

Now that we have a Democratic President, we should expect to see more Democrats holding political office. This is because the Oval Office influences other offices to bring in same party candidates.  The President does this by campaigning on behalf of like-minded, same party members. The more allies he has in government roles, the easier the President can shape policy.

Less push back means more work can be done. By ensuring party strength among the branches, the President has more support. He needs this support for re-election or policymaking. 

The President can help make or break the economy.

In most elections, the growth of the economy is a huge topic of discussion. This is because the President has, in large part, the power to grow or shrink the economy. The President works to decrease unemployment and create a booming economy. Whether the President does this successfully is constantly scrutinized.

Our Presidents are skilled in economics matters, but few of them are experts. Most of the economic work the President does is actually thanks to true experts in the field. For example, President Biden appointed Janet Yellen, an economist and the former Chair of the Federal Reserve, to be the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. She will make many economic decisions for the country. Yet, in times of economic trouble, the people look to the President to help guide the country out of dark times. 

Who knew the President had so many responsibilities? With all that is expected of them, it’s no wonder so many report a lack of sleep and high stress. In fact, former president Barack Obama reported averaging only 5- 6 hours of sleep while he was in office. The job of President is not one to take lightly.

Now that Joseph Biden has been elected, we will see if these roles change. He served in the Senate for more than 36 years and as the Vice President of the United States for 8 years. In other words, he has a lot of political experience. But he could still shake things up from the norm. No matter, the majority of Americans felt he would be the next best President, and he will work tirelessly to make our country great. 

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